Judge orders Chris Brown to remain in jail

LOS ANGELES — Chris Brown will spend another month in jail after a judge said Monday he was told the singer made troubling comments in rehab about being good at using guns and knives.

Brown, 24, was arrested on Friday after he was dismissed from a Malibu facility where he was receiving treatment for anger management, substance abuse and issues related to bipolar disorder.

Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin said rehab officials reported to him that Brown said during a group session: "'I am good at using guns and knives.'" His comment was in response to an exercise in which Brown was asked to reflect on things he was good or excelled at.

The facility cited three other violations of its rules, claiming Brown refused to take a drug test, made a statement that alarmed rehab officials, and was seen touching the elbow of a female client.

R&B singer Chris Brown appears in Los Angeles Superior Court with his attorney Mark Geragos, on Monday, March 17, 2014. Brown will spend another month in jail after a judge said Monday he was told the singer made troubling comments in rehab about being good at using guns and knives. The singer was arrested on Friday, March 14, 2014, after he was dismissed from a Malibu facility where he was receiving treatment for anger management, substance abuse and issues related to bipolar disorder. (AP Photo)

His attorney Mark Geragos said the comment Brown made that prompted concern was, "'I'm going to ask my higher power to take away my troubles.'" An incident report by the facility states Brown laughed and rolled his eyes when he made the comment.

Geragos said that despite initially resisting the drug test, his client eventually took it and passed.

Brandlin rejected a request by Geragos that the Grammy-winning Brown be released into a different rehab program. He ordered Brown to remain in jail until a probation violation hearing scheduled for April 23.

The singer has been under court supervision since pleading guilty to the felony assault of his then-girlfriend Rihanna in an attack hours before the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Brown appeared in court wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, a sharp contrast from the suits and designer jeans he has worn for other court hearings.

Geragos had requested that Brown be allowed to change into a suit, but Brandlin refused. The singer's mother was crying as she left the courtroom.

The defense attorney argued unsuccessfully that keeping Brown in custody would be a waste of law enforcement and court resources and could create problems for the singer's upcoming trial in Washington, D.C., on a misdemeanor assault charge.

Geragos said that trial is scheduled for April 17 but there was no way the singer could attend it if he was sitting in a Los Angeles jail.

Brandlin ordered Geragos and a prosecutor to look into options that would allow Brown to attend the trial before the probation violation hearing was held in Los Angeles.

The judge did not indicate any potential penalties he was considering if Brown is found to have violated his probation.

Geragos said the ruling to keep Brown in jail would likely force him to file an appellate court motion for the release of the singer.

After the hearing, he described Brown as having a bad day at the treatment facility.

"You know — do you have a bad day? I have bad days sometimes," Geragos said outside the courthouse. "Do you say things you'd like to take back? I certainly do. So I don't know that being in a therapeutic session and you're talking about your reflections and you say one sentence means you go to jail? Seems to me to be counterproductive to therapy." (AP)

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